Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: Joseph Clemens on April 17, 2008, 06:16:46 PM

Title: The Beautiful Honeycomb
Post by: Joseph Clemens on April 17, 2008, 06:16:46 PM
Honeycomb, one of the amazing and wonderful beauties of the hive:

(http://www.wjclemens.com/cordovan-honeybee/images/Comb/17Apr08_012_cropped_labeled.jpg)

(http://www.wjclemens.com/cordovan-honeybee/images/Comb/17Apr08_004_PF125_overnight_labeled.jpg)
Title: Re: The Beautiful Honeycomb
Post by: JP on April 17, 2008, 09:55:53 PM
Joseph, you really have some busy bees there!


...JP
Title: Re: The Beautiful Honeycomb
Post by: Understudy on April 17, 2008, 10:05:04 PM
They did that awfully quick.

darn nice.

Sincerely,
Brendhan

Title: Re: The Beautiful Honeycomb
Post by: taipantoo on April 18, 2008, 08:20:50 AM
Joseph,

What was used as a starter in the frame?
Unless it's an optical illusion, the cell size of the burr comb seems to be much smaller than the comb in the frame.
Cell size is very interesting to me.
May I have your permission to post your picture on another bee keeping forum?
Title: Re: The Beautiful Honeycomb
Post by: Joseph Clemens on April 18, 2008, 11:29:01 AM
Quote from: taipantoo on April 18, 2008, 08:20:50 AM
Joseph,

What was used as a starter in the frame?
Unless it's an optical illusion, the cell size of the burr comb seems to be much smaller than the comb in the frame.
Cell size is very interesting to me.
May I have your permission to post your picture on another bee keeping forum?
The comb in the frame was started with a very small strip of regular 5.4 mm beeswax foundation. The bees drew most of the frame is drone sized cells (with most of those filled with nectar or honey), the corner on the right in the photo are worker size and contain worker brood. The pieces of burr comb are approximately 4.9 mm cell size, some are a little larger, some are a little bit smaller.

One thing that I find curious, is that pollen never seems to find its way into drone cells. Even on combs where most of the central and lower portions are drone cells, with the first inch or two from the top bar and two-three inch wide edges of worker cells, all of the pollen is concentrated in the worker cells near the end bars, with honey in the upper band of worker cells and then the drone cells are filled with drone brood.
Title: Re: The Beautiful Honeycomb
Post by: buckbee on April 18, 2008, 02:52:11 PM
This is what can happen if you do the same thing in a brood chamber. Note not only smaller cells, but different sized cells:



(apparently I don't qua;ify to embed images, so you know what to do)
Title: Re: The Beautiful Honeycomb
Post by: Joseph Clemens on April 18, 2008, 03:29:35 PM
Let's see if I can get it to work ---

Quote from: buckbee on April 18, 2008, 02:52:11 PM
This is what can happen if you do the same thing in a brood chamber. Note not only smaller cells, but different sized cells:

(http://www.§¤«£¿æ.com/images/frame_comb_wild.jpg)

(apparently I don't qua;ify to embed images, so you know what to do)

Title: Re: The Beautiful Honeycomb
Post by: bassman1977 on April 18, 2008, 04:33:20 PM
Holy smokes!  Whoops.  You can see the small cells for sure.  Are those Carnies, buckbee?
Title: Re: The Beautiful Honeycomb
Post by: buckbee on April 19, 2008, 11:22:19 AM
Not Carnies - they are local Buckfast x whatever mongrels! (Hive situated about 3 miles from Buckfast Abbey)
Not my bees, might I add - as I only use TBHs these days - but one of our association members.

Photo taken 2006. Thanks for sorting the link, Joseph.
Title: Re: The Beautiful Honeycomb
Post by: bassman1977 on April 19, 2008, 01:42:43 PM
Very cool.  I would love to visit Buckfast Abbey some day.